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by LadyJackdaw



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Maybe - Freeform, i haven't written a fic in so long, idk - Freeform, it's fluffy though, kinda angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 17:03:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10948899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyJackdaw/pseuds/LadyJackdaw
Summary: It was a shock when he felt the soft palm of her hand against his cheek, like electricity running over his skin, and his eyes flew wide as something washed over him, the feeling both so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.Post BotW.





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**Author's Note:**

> i haven't written a fic in a long, long time gUH. apologies for its shortness, i'm still a little rusty!

The land was healing. Granted, it was healing already even whilst the Calamity raged in the castle and his monsters flooded the lands, but it didn’t feel like it was healing… right. Like a broken leg that wasn’t correctly set. But now, with Ganon sealed away for what all hoped would be eternity, the entire kingdom of Hyrule and even beyond seemed to be filling with pure, exhilarating life.

Embers crackled angrily as they were poked lightly with a stick, smoke twirling upwards into the darkening twilight sky from a campfire on the top of a hill. Link pushed the burning logs around a few more times before letting the stick drop, it too quickly catching fire and adding to the flames. The evening was quiet, save for the occasional pop of the fire and the soft chirping of crickets, and Link had grown accustomed to sharing his nights with only nature and his own thoughts. Though now he had someone else.

She was currently sat with her body angled towards the fire to soak up the warmth, but her face was turned towards the north. Towards her prison for the past one hundred years. Link’s gaze followed her own, falling on the site of the ruined castle that was now absent of the swirling mass of malice that had occupied it. It felt strange to look at it so calm and empty; usually the sight of the Calamity being an ever-present reminder of his quest. But said quest was complete, and everything he had worked so hard for now sat only a few inches away from him, her gaze distant and filled with so many emotions he couldn’t identify. It had only been a few days since they had defeated the Calamity Ganon and her recovery had been slow, their travels away from Hyrule Castle being slow and steady despite the decreased presence of monsters now. He could tell the thoughts of what had happened haunted her and the thoughts of what was to come terrified her. He wanted to reach out to her, to tell her it was okay, but there was always something that stopped him. He was still unsure in his movements, especially around her, and the only thing he could do with surety was slay monsters. Defeating Ganon had not changed the feeling of being lost that had settled into a corner of his heart. A chill breeze blew past them both, causing her to shiver ever so minutely, but it was still noticed.

“Are you cold?” He asked, keeping his voice low so as to not startle her. It didn’t succeed though, the slight jump of her shoulders and the quick flick of her eyes away from the castle indicating that she still had yet to fully recover the feeling of being safe once more.

It was a few moments before she turned her head to him, though she didn’t quite meet his gaze.

“No, thank you, I am fine. The fire will warm me soon enough.”

Her voice was soft, almost as fragile as she looked, as if she was always on the edge of tears that wouldn’t quite come. Link tried to get her to meet his eyes, to give him some assurance that she was healing like her kingdom, but her gaze was now directed to the floor with her hands clasped tightly on her lap. She had been so open when they had defeated Ganon and sealed him away, but as the dust had settled and reality had seeped its way into them both, everything she had experienced caught up with her and she had retreated into herself, leaving Link almost clueless on how to approach her aside from asking the necessary things or attempting to make polite conversation. It was most likely obvious to her how uncertain he was about the memories he had, especially about the both of them, and he wouldn’t blame her for being disappointed in him over lost moments that only she could remember. He shifted slightly in his own seat, which did cause her eyes to flick up for just a second, but a second was all he needed to catch her. Something small and silent passed between them as their eyes connected, thoughts running wild through their minds.

“Are you really alright?” His voice was firmer but laced with concern he couldn’t help but let seep into his words.

Again, there was silence as she kept her eyes fixated with his, her almost blank expression shifting before a response passed her lips.

“I do not wish to…” She looked away, a grimace briefly flashing across her face before she continued, “I do not wish to relive those memories just yet.” 

Memories. The word alone made him pause, drop his gaze from her pained eyes and instead stare into the dancing flames of their campfire. Of course, she was still in possession of her memories, the hundred years she had spent trapped away not dulling them in the slightest. She remembered what everything was like before; the kingdom, the people, even himself. It was a strange situation, when someone else remembered more about you than you remember of yourself, though of course he could recall some things, even if they weren’t about who he was before. He remembered her at least. Zelda. His charge, his princess, his… Something. He couldn’t quite place in his mind who she was to him, so many terms jumping over each other and mingling until he couldn’t decide on which one to use, but he’d never forget her for being _Zelda._

It was her who caught his gaze this time, as he felt her eyes linger over him from only a few inches away. He raised his head slowly, testing his boundaries as he always seemed to do since they were reunited, but her unwavering look told him she was not about to distance herself again and she parted her lips slightly as a soft sigh passed through them.

“I know that I have… Asked you already but,” There was the tiniest inhalation of breath before she continued, “How much do you truly remember?”

The question startled him, catching him off guard in the way only she seemed to be able to do. He had never fully disclosed what he could and could not remember with her, her original question mere moments after sealing the Calamity away simply asking if he remembered her. He did, that was the one constant certainty now, but how much of her he remembered he didn’t know, though he knew it was definitely not as much as she remembered of him. In comparison, there was a lot else he could remember about other things, though she was always connected to them in some way.

“I remember the Champions, our friends,” He began, also sucking in a breath, “And I remember the castle as it was before-”

“I meant- about me.” She cut him off, again surprising him, and her eyes disconnected from his if only for a split second before she looked back for his reaction.

There was a moment of pure stillness, where neither of them dared to move a muscle as they studied each other closely. Link wondered how she saw him, what story his eyes told her, what his movements caused her to remember. It caused something to pull on his heart, as he realised that his own thoughts on her were so fractured and muddled. What had the Link of before thought of her? Had that Link’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her smile too? He was still lost, still wandering without a true home. Nothing had filled that hole.

She must have noticed the shift in his expression, the pain that mirrored her own flashing across his eyes, because she moved ever so slightly, her hand rising slowly. His gaze jumped to the movement and the sudden change of focus seemed to deter her, her hand freezing in its ascent and her fingers curling as she looked to move her hand back. Then their gazes were intertwined again, the connection between them coming back to life and pulling her hand back up as once again something flowed between them. It was a shock when he felt the soft palm of her hand against his cheek, like electricity running over his skin, and his eyes flew wide as something washed over him, the feeling both so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Something stirred in his chest, something faint and distant but something that was _there_ , and he let out a soft sigh as he leaned faintly into her touch. Then all at once, everything came crashing down onto him. Every emotion he had felt before, every thought that had crossed his mind, they all swirled in his once fractured memory as lines were drawn between floating feelings, connecting them all as everything once again started to make sense and he could feel the empty gap in his heart filling and filling until it was so full of feeling that it disappeared completely. He could remember the feelings of uncertainty and duty, the same that plagued him now, as they started their journey together. He could remember the feelings of fear as he saw her almost slain by Yiga assassins and the intense pull on his heart at the sight of her so terrified as he leapt to protect her, ready to lay his life down for her at a moment's notice. The ones that hit him hard were the memories of the warmest, fullest feelings of their bond growing and growing after that point, weaving them both together so intricately that they were connected as one as he realised that he would give up his life for her not out of duty, but out of love. Those memories had felt so empty in comparison to what they felt now, like watching someone that looked like him but wasn’t quite the same person, and there had been no connection within his emotions to the Link he had been before. But now _she_ was that connection, the one thing that pulled them together and held everything in place and gave him back things he’d never thought he’d be able to feel again.

He nuzzled further into Zelda’s hand as everything flowed through him, a tear rolling out onto his cheek and his breathing coming in small hiccups. Her thumb moved gently across his face to wipe away the tear, leaving a trail of tingling nerves, and he opened his watery eyes to once again match her own. Her gaze was filled with such soft tenderness that every doubt he would lose his Zelda to the damage the Calamity had left was erased from his mind, the small and fragile her that he had seen only moments before replaced with someone entirely different but so familiar. He smiled at her through his tears and the soft smile she offered him in return solidified the one coherent thought his mind could create at that moment, of what she truly was to him. She was his princess. She was his Zelda. She was his _home._


End file.
